Online Lottery Under Discussion In Maharashtra

The government of Maharashtra is considering changes within its lottery system, discussing whether or not to bring lottery games from paper to online format. The state government has seen the success of an online lottery in Kerala, and is currently preparing a proposal to shift its offerings to the online sector in order to earn more revenues.

According to the Times of India, Vijay Kuma Gautam, the principal secretary of Maharashtra, has stated that the local government is currently studying the Kerala lottery model, with a proposal having been made to introduce the online lottery. In an interview, Gautam commented on how Maharashtra uses a paper lottery system and that a proposal has been made that would see a system for online lottery sales revealed by this coming April.

From the current lottery setup, the state earns Rs 132 crore. Of this amount, Rs 125 core is created from taxes from the lotteries offered in other states. Basically, Maharashtra is only earning Rs seven crore from their own lottery. When reviewing the Kerala lottery, Maharashtra is earning far less. Kerala earns Rs 1,300 annually from their state-owned lottery. The money earned in Kerala from the lottery games is used for public utility projects such as water supply bridges, etc.

According to another government official cited in the Times of India report, online lottery gaming is gaining in popularity, as the north eastern states of India are earning good revenues and online lotteries in other states are doing well in Mumbai.